All the King's Horses
by Katriona
Summary: ...and all the king's men, couldn't put Prue back together again. Prue wasn't killed in AHBL, instead she was cast into another dimension. She comes back years later, with no memory of her past. *fixed the chapter mix-up**Please r&r**COMPLETED*
1. Default Chapter

All the King's Horses  
(working title)  
  
Summary: Set after All Hell Breaks Loose. Prue didn't really die, she was pulled into another dimension. Years later, she returns to this dimension with no memory of her family or her magical past.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Prue, Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Leo, Cole, Darryl, or any other Charmed characters.  
  
A/N: Please review. Flames are OK, as long as you tell me why you don't like my fic and not just 'Ur StOrIe SuXxXx!!!!!!!!!11111" or something of the like.  
  
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-|Right After 'All Hell Breaks Loose'|-  
  
Prue shivered. Why was it so cold? She slowly opened her eyes. Her eyelids felt like lead. She looked around, assessing the situation.  
  
All around her, everything was white. It was snowing lightly. Prue would have thought it was beautiful, if she hadn't been so scared.  
  
She rubbed her eyes groggily. How long had she been asleep? She tried to think back. She didn't remember coming here. She didn't remember anything before waking up, curled up against a snow-covered boulder.  
  
"Oh, good, you're awake."  
  
Prue gasped and jumped to her feet. She spun around to see a man about her age, a head taller than her, looking at her with an amused expression on his face.  
  
"Who are you?" she demanded.  
  
He laughed. "I'm Caden. And you are...?"  
  
"Prue Halliwell." she replied immedeately. She almost sighed with relief. She may not know how she got there or where she came from, but at least she knew her own name. That was a start.  
  
"Well, Prue Halliwell, what are you doing here? Where did you come from? When I saw you a few minutes ago, you were asleep in the snow." he said, biting back a smile.  
  
"I- I don't know, exactly." she said, trying her best not to seem too vulnerable. She still wasn't sure if she trusted him. "Where is here, anyway?"  
  
Caden looked at her, his eyes filled with concern. It was one thing for her to get lost and end up here, that happened often enough. But he'd never encountered someone who didn't know where they were from. "You're in a place called Cael. Why don't you come back to my house? It's only a short walk from here."  
  
Prue bit her lip apprehensively, but then decided it was safe. She still didn't trust him, but she liked him well enough.  
  
He took her to a small cabin, and they sat down at the kitchen table drinking cocoa. They talked, asked each other questions, but Prue still couldn't remember anything beyond her name. Despite that, or maybe because of it, Caden found her fascinating. The feeling was mutual, though Prue was still wary of him.  
  
After finishing their cocoa, Caden suggested taking a walk. Prue followed him outside. They walked around his expansive property, and she was amazed to find that, as she started feeling safer, the weather changed from icy cold to sunny and warm. By the time they got to the back edge of the grounds, it was spring weather, with the grass a beatiful shade of green and flowers all along the path. Prue questioned Caden about this abrupt change.  
  
"Around here, the weather, along with several other things, is closely dependent on mood and emotion. Before, when you were alone and scared, it was cold and snowing. Now that you're more relaxed, it's gotten brighter out." he explained.  
  
Prue spun around, laughing. "I like it when I'm relaxed."  
  
Caden smiled and playfully grabbed her from behind, putting his arms around her waist. "So do I."  
  
Prue leaned into him, then pointed to a building not far from them. "What's that?"  
  
"That," he began, "is my stable. Can you remember if you've ever ridden a horse?"  
  
Prue shrugged. She didn't know, and at the moment, she didn't care. She was more than happy where she was. She laughed as Caden picked her up and carried her inside the stable, setting her down before a gorgeous tan mare named Coeur. She spent the rest of the afternoon riding Coeur, with Caden next to her on a stallion named Cheval. By the time she went to sleep that night, she didn't care if she ever got home. 


	2. Home Sweet Home

From that day on, Prue spent almost every afternoon with Caden and Coeur. She came to love the mare as well as her owner. She was so content in her new life, that she seldom thought about those years she was missing, or how she'd gotten here and why. Until one day, about eight years after her mysterious arrival, the tranquility that she loved about Cael was suddenly and subtly broken.  
  
Prue noticed the change when she woke up one morning, exactly eight years since she'd come to Cael. She knew right away that something was wrong, but she couldn't tell what it was. She lifted her head off the pillow, checking to make sure that Caden was still next to her. He was still asleep, so she put her head on his chest, letting the sound of his breathing comfort her.  
  
After a while, she was still restless, so she got up and went into the other room. There, her month-old baby daughter, Kaide, was sound asleep in the crib Caden had built himself. She bent over the crib and gently kissed the baby, then went back into her own room and lay down beside Caden.  
  
She managed to ignore her bad feelings until later that morning. She was in the stable brushing Coeur, when something incredible happened. She lost the mare's favourite brush, and when she turned to look for it, it floated across the stable and into her hand. She stood there for a minute, gaping at it. "Caden!" she called once she got over her initial shock. "Caden!"  
  
"Prue? What's wrong?" he asked as he came rushing into the stable. He put his arms around her. She was shaking uncontrollably.  
  
"The brush, it just- It came to me. Like... magic or something. But... how?" Prue stammered. She was used to minor strange occurances, such as the weather changing based on someone's mood, or people having visions. In Cael, those things were normal, but she'd never seen something fly on it's own before.  
  
He kissed her, trying to calm her down. "Shh. It's okay."  
  
She shook her head. "No, it's not. Caden, all day I've had this feeling that something was going to happen. Something bad, and I think it has to do with what happened before I came here."  
  
He sighed. "Then maybe you should go back." he said reluctantly.  
  
Prue nodded. She'd been thinking the same thing, but she didn't want to leave him and Kaide. "I should, I know. I just... I need to think, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she kissed him good-bye, then took Coeur out for a ride around the grounds. She needed to be by herself, to clear her head. She realized with a sinking feeling that the emotion she'd felt once the shock had worn off from the floating brush hadn't been fear; it was familiarity.  
  
An hour later, Prue and Coeur came to a part of the grounds she didn't recognise. She was at a fork in the road. There were three paths, none of them looked even vaguely familiar. She grabbed onto Coeur's neck, suddenly feeling dizzy. A minute later, she blacked out.  
  
When she woke up, Prue wasn't in the small, warm bedroom she shared with Caden. She looked around. Wherever this was, it certainly wasn't in Cael. She scrambled to her feet, not wanting anyone to catch her off guard like Caden had exactly eight years ago.  
  
Prue inhaled deeply and started poking around. She was in a big, dark room. In the center of it was an old leather-bound book restign on a stand. She started to move toward it when she heard footsteps. She froze, trying not to panic. A young woman, a few years younger than Prue, came in. She stopped short when she saw Prue standing by the book.  
  
"P-P-Prue?" she stammered, her eyes filling with tears.  
  
Prue nodded, to confused to speak. She had no idea how this woman knew her name, but somehow Prue knew she was connected to the floating brush that morning.  
  
Piper ran over to hug her big sister. "Prue, I tried so hard to bring you back. I missed you so much, I can't believe you're really here."  
  
"Where is here?" Prue asked awkwardly.  
  
Piper pulled away. "Prue, come on. I know the attic looks a bit different, but it hasn't changed that much..."  
  
"Who are you?" Prue asked, stepping back.  
  
"Oh my God, you don't remember?" Piper gasped. "It's me. Piper. You're sister." Prue stared at her blankly. "Leo!" Piper called. "LEO!"  
  
"Mom?"  
  
Prue turned to see a girl, about 7 years old, standing in the doorway.  
  
"Kel, come here." Piper called. The girl obeyed, standing next to Piper and staring nervously at Prue. "Kellie, honey, this is your Aunt Prue."  
  
Kellie's face lit up at the sound of Prue's name. "You mean... the one that...?"  
  
Piper nodded. She'd told her daughter many stories about the aunt who'd died before she was born, the aunt she'd been named for. "Prue, this is my daughter, your neice, Prudence Keladry Wyatt."  
  
Prue did a double take, looking at Keladry with a mixture of awe and fear. "I have a neice?"  
  
"Two, actually," Keladry said shyly. "Mom, that's why I came up here. The baby's awake."  
  
"Okay, Kel," Piper said, looking nervously at her sister.  
  
"Go on," Prue said, "if you don't mind, I'd like to look around up here."  
  
Piper left Keladry and Prue, and went downstairs to her room, where her baby daughter, Peony Kerrilyn, was playing quietly in her crib. "Hi, sweetie." Piper cooed.   
  
Leo orbed in just as she was taking Kerri out of the crib. "You called?"  
  
"Actually, yeah." She bit her lip, hoping what she'd seen in the attic hadn't just been a dream. It wasn't, she told herself. It couldn't have been. "Leo... Prue's back."  
  
"What?" her husband asked increduously. "Piper, are you sure it's-"  
  
"Really her?" Piper supplied. "Yes, Leo, I'm positive. That's her, that's my big sister."  
  
Leo smiled. Prue had been like a sister to him, and he'd really missed her. "So, where is she?"  
  
"She's up in the attic." Piper said, her smile fading. "Leo, there's just one thing. She doesn't remember."  
  
"Remember what?" he asked.  
  
"Anything!" Piper exclaimed. Kerri, sensing her mother's anxiety, began to get agitated. Piper started rocking her absently. "She doesn't remember anything but her own name. She didn't... Leo, she didn't recognise me." she said, her voice breaking.  
  
Leo pulled his wife close, putting his arms around her and their daughter. Piper started to cry. It wasn't enough that her sister was there physically. After eight years of living without her, Piper needed Prue to really be there, to be the way she was before.  
  
Kerri cooed, making Piper giggle. "Come on, let's go meet your aunt." she said, and, after drying her eyes, allowed Leo to lead her back up to the attic. 


	3. Demonic Attack

|Meanwhile|  
  
Keladry watched her mother leave the attic. When Piper was gone, the seven-year-old turned back to her aunt. "Aunt Prue," the little girl began shyly, "I'm really glad you're back."  
  
"So am I." Prue said, smiling at her neice. 'I think,' she added silently. Something about this place gave her a sense of comforting familiarity, but as hard as she tried, she couldn't recall ever being here, or even having sisters. Really, she had no idea who Piper was, and she had no reason to believe she was telling the truth about being Prue's sister. Still, Prue couldn't help but believe her.  
  
"So, Keladry," Prue began. She paused, trying to think of something to say. After all, what do you tell the daughter of a sister you don't remember?  
  
"It's okay, Aunt Prue. You don't have to say anything." Kel said. "It must be hard for you, being back and all. It's been so long since you..." she stopped, letting her voice trail off.  
  
"Since I what?" Prue pressed, eager to hear anything that might help jog her memory.  
  
"Well, I don't know, exactly." Kel said with a shrug. "I mean, Mom, Aunt Phoebe, and Aunt Paige always thought you'd died. Daddy was there, he said he was sure you had... Well, anyway, you're back now. Aunt Phoebe will be thrilled, so will Aunt Paige, she'd always wanted to meet you."  
  
Prue stared at the girl quizzically. None of those names did anything to ring any bells.  
  
Keladry didn't know that Prue couldn't remember anything that happened before her 'death'. Instead, she took her aunt's puzzled expression for confusion over who this Paige was. "Aunt Paige found Mom and Aunt Phoebe after you.. disappeared," Kel said, for lack of a better word. "She's your baby half-sister. Her father was Grandma Patty's whitelighter." the little girl explained.  
  
Prue was about to ask Keladry what a whitelighter was, when Leo appeared in the doorway, followed by Piper, who was holding Kerri.  
  
"I thought you'd like to meet your other neice, Peony Kerrilyn." Piper said cheerfully. She handed the baby over to Prue, who started rocking her gently.  
  
"She's beautiful." Prue said. She stared down at Kerri, noting the similarities between this baby and Prue's own daughter. Kerri was several months older than Kaide, but Prue could definately see a family resemblance. Okay, so maybe I am related to these people, Prue thought. Somehow, this knowledge gave her comfort.  
  
Piper beamed, watching her sister with Kerri. "You were always so good with kids," she said. "I guess after raising me and Phoebe, you had a lot of practice." she added, hoping to say something that Prue would remember.  
  
It didn't work. Prue just looked at her sadly, shrugging to indicate she had no idea what Piper was talking about.  
  
"Kel, why don't you go downstairs and let the grown-ups catch up for a minute, okay?" Leo suggested. Keladry slipped out of the attic.  
  
"I'm sorry." Prue said. "I know I should remember, I mean, it's an awful lot to forget, but I..."  
  
"Shh." Piper hushed her. She hugged Prue fiercely. "It's okay. Whatever happened, it's not your fault. We'll fix it. Just wait until Pheobe and Paige get home, there has to be something in the book."  
  
Prue nodded, afraid to ask what book her sister meant. "So.. What happened?" she finally gathered the strength to ask. "I mean, before I disappeared."  
  
"We were fighting Shax, one of the Source's assassins, and he hurled us both through a wall, and Leo orbed in to heal us, but..." Piper's voice broke. "He couldn't heal you. We thought you were dead. We were sure you were. I tried everything I could think of to bring you back, and it didn't work, it just wouldn't."  
  
"That was eight years ago." Leo stepped in while his wife tried to regain her composure. "Right after you died, Piper and Phoebe found Paige, and she completed the Power of Three. They vanquished the Source, but Cole became the new Source, until they vanquished him, too. THe underworld was in shambles util just after Kel was born. That's when a new demon became Source. He still hasn't completely restored order down there, but it's enough to keep your sisters on their toes."  
  
Demons? Power of Three? Prue was just about to ask her brother-in-law what the hell he was talking about, when Phoebe and Paige burst into the attic.  
  
"Piper, Leo, there's been another.... attack..." Paige's voice trailed off when she saw Prue, standing off to the side of the room, still cradling Kerri.  
  
"Oh my God." Phoebe breathed. "Piper, is that... Are you...?"  
  
Piper nodded. Paige stared at Prue, unsure of what to say.  
  
"She doesn't remember." Leo told them quietly. "She doesn't remember you, or living here, or anything."  
  
Phoebe, who had started toward her sister, hesitated.  
  
"It's okay," Prue said reassuringly. "I mean, I don't know who you are or what's going on, but I think Piper's telling me the truth, and if she is, that would make you two my sisters, right?"  
  
Phoebe smiled. "Yes, I'm your sister. Phoebe."  
  
Nervously, Paige stepped out from where she'd been standing in the doorway. "I'm Paige. You wouldn't remember me with or without your memory. I'm your half-sister."  
  
Phoebe pulled Paige closer, so she was standing even with Piper and Phoebe. They both hated to see Paige feeling so awkward, especially since she'd been part of the family for almost a decade now.  
  
Prue handed Kerri to Piper, and apprehensively went over to hug her youngest sisters. Paige returned the embrace tensely, but Phoebe hugged Prue tightly, whispering "I missed you so much," in her sister's ear.  
  
The pulled apart when they heard a crashing sound coming from the other end of the attic. Leo took Kerri and orbed out, and Piper, Prue, Phoebe, and Paige turned to see a black-and-green demon standing in front of them.  
  
"Oh!" Piper exlaimed. "This is not good."  
  
"That's the one we came here to tell you about. There should be a vanquish in the Book of Shadows." Paige shouted over the demon's roar.  
  
Prue stood in shock, watching her sisters run to the big, leather-bound book. She gasped in disbelief when the pages started flipping themselves.  
  
"Thanks, Grams," Phoebe muttered. "Here it is. The spell to vanquish Laum."  
  
She, Piper, and Paige started chanting as Prue looked on, astounded.  
  
"Evil being who roams free,  
This spell will imprison thee,  
Among us no longer dwell,  
Demon Laum go back to hell!"  
  
Paige gasped. "It's not working!" she cried.  
  
"You're not strong enough." Laum taunted.  
  
Piper shuddered at the sound of his laughter. "Prue, come on. We need you, gt over here." she called.  
  
Numbly, Prue obeyed. She chanted along with her younger sisters. The spell worked this time, and Laum disappeared in a burst of flame.  
  
The attic got quiet. Prue stared at them, her heart pounding. "What the hell are you people?" 


	4. Fear

"Prue-" Piper began gently.  
  
"No." Prue cut her off. Shaking, she backed into a corner of the attic, and sank down against the wall, sobbing. "Where's Caden? I want Caden."  
  
"Honey, it's okay, really-" Phoebe started.  
  
"No!" Prue shouted. "Look, I don't know who or what you people are. I just want to go back to Cael. Please, just let me go back"  
  
"I don't blame you." Paige said, kneeling on the floor in front of Prue. "When I first found out that Piper and Phoebe were witches, and that I was one too, I was scared as hell. All I wanted was to go back to my adoptive family. But Prue, that wouldn't have changed who I am. I couldn't just forget about being a witch, and neither can you. It's part of who we are, a big part, and, once you learn how to deal with it, it's actually pretty cool."  
  
Prue looked at her. She was still afraid, but Paige's speech had done a lot to calm her. "That... that thing, that just happened. Whatever it was. Did I used to do that? Like, on a regular basis?"  
  
"Only for three years, before you disappeared, but during that time, it was a constant." Phoebe said.  
  
"You were good at it, too." Piper added. "Better than I'll ever be."  
  
"It's true." Paige said. "I spent eight years trying to be just like you."  
  
"Why can't I remember?" Prue asked, frustrated.  
  
"Well, what do you remember?" Paige asked.  
  
Prue thought for a minute. "The first thing I remember is waking up in the snow, and seeing Caden standing over me. He took me back to his house, and then we walked around the grounds for a while, stopping at the stable. He gave me a mare, Coeur. That was eight years ago."  
  
"And you don't remember anything before that?" Paige pressed. Prue shook her head. "Okay, then what was the last thing you remember, before coming here?"  
  
Prue told her sisters about the bad feeling she'd woken up with, and how the brush had floated to her in the stable, and finally how she'd blacked out while riding Coeur and woken up in the attic. Piper and Phoebe glanced at each other, then called for Leo. He orbed in holding Keladry amidst bright white lights.  
  
Prue shook her head and blinked hard, thinking her eyes must be deceiving her.  
  
"It's okay, honey." Piper reassured. "He's a whitelighter. A guardian angel, of sorts."  
  
"A guardian angel. Right." Prue said wearily. "Why not, it makes about as much sense as anything else today."  
  
Paige put her arm around Prue comfortingly while Piper repeated to Leo everything Prue had said.  
  
"I'll go see if the Elders know anything." Leo said when his wife had finished. He put Kel down and orbed out.  
  
Prue, still sitting on the floor against the wall, put her head in her arms, trying to convince herself it was all just a bad dream. Keladry, who had heard what her mother had said, ran over to hug her aunt.  
  
"It's okay, Aunt Prue. My daddy and the Elders can help you remember." she said.  
  
Prue looked up and smiled, pulling her little neice close. Kel gave her aunt a kiss, then settled herself on Prue's lap.  
  
"So what do we do now?" Prue asked, sighing with resignation. Seeing Keladry had really alleiviated a lot of Prue's fear and the distrust she'd felt toward her sisters, but she was still wary.  
  
"Now," Piper said, "we wait for Leo to get back." 


	5. Insert Creative Chapter Title Here

Leo was Up There for what seemed like forever. During that time, Prue never moved from her spot on the attic floor. She rocked Keladry silently, absorbed in her own thoughts. The expression on her face was hazy, and distant. It killed Piper and Phoebe to see her looking like that.  
  
"She seems so unreachable." Paige mused. "So distant."  
  
"She wasn't like that before. She used to be the grounded one, the level-headed one." Piper said.  
  
"I know, honey. I know she wasn't this... this untouchable before. I just wish we could do something-" Paige stopped abruptly when Leo orbed in. Keladry looked up at her father, but Prue didn't so much as blink.  
  
"What did they say?" Piper asked anxiously.  
  
Leo sighed, trying to figure out how to phrase his answer. No matter how he said it, it would be difficult. It would involve talking about That Day, a subject they hadn't touched in eight years.  
  
"They said that Tempus and the Source tricked us eight years ago. He reset time, but sent Prue to another world, and made us think..." he let his voice trail off. They all knew what he meant, and he didn't want to say it aloud.  
  
"Made us think that Prue was dead." Piper voiced quietly, almost to herself. Leo nodded.  
  
"So how does that help us now?" Phoebe asked impatiently. She looked helplessly at her oldest sister. Prue was still sitting on the floor against the attic wall, rocking Keladry and shutting out everyone else.  
  
"One thing at a time." Leo said gently.  
  
"How did she get like this?" Paige asked, looking curiously at the scared, broken woman she saw before her. She still couldn't reconcile that this was the strong, ambitious older sister she'd never met, whose memory she'd grown to admire and emulate over the years.  
  
"From what the Elders can figure out, it was the shock of coming back here. She'd gotten used to being in Cael, from what she's said, I think she'd even fallen in love. From the time she arrived there she'd had no memory of you. Cael is the only home she knows." Leo answered matter-of-factly.  
  
"How did I get here?" Prue asked suddenly. Leo and her sisters looked at her, surprised to hear her speak. "I want Caden. Why isn't he here, too?"  
  
Leo knelt down in front of his sister-in-law, taking her hand to show her she didn't have to be afraid of him. "Caden's not here because this isn't where he belongs. Come on, Prue, you have to know that."  
  
"How?" she asked. "How do I know? Why should I believe this isn't just some trick, that you people are really my family?"  
  
"Do you think this is a trick?" Leo asked.  
  
Prue looked at him, then at her sisters, then at her neice. Finally, she shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know." She rested her head against the wall, tears falling silently down her face.  
  
Keladry wiped them away with the back of her hand. "Why are you sad, Aunt Prue? It's okay, you're back now. You're home."  
  
Prue smiled, her fear once again calmed by her precocious little neice. She put Keladry down gently, and stood up to face her sisters. "Okay," she said, "assuming you are my sisters, what happens now?"  
  
Piper looked at her husband. "Leo, what else did the Elders say? How do we help Prue get her memory back?"  
  
"They don't know." he said. "Their best guess would be just to give her time to readjust. Give you all time." he added, seeing Paige standing once again toward the edge of the group.  
  
Keladry yawned, and the adults looked at each other, realizing for the first time how exhausted they all were.  
  
"Okay, Kellie, bedtime." Piper said, picking up her oldest daughter.  
  
"We'd all better get to sleep," Paige suggested, "It's been a hell of a day."  
  
"Come on, Prue, you can sleep in Grams' old room." Phoebe said, leading her sister downstairs. They filed out the door in tired silence. Paige stayed behidn for a few minutes, then left the attic, shuttting the light off as she went.  
  
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A/N: Okay, so I know I haven't updated in a while, but I've been working on several other fics, including a Harry Potter one and a Charmed/X-Files crossover. I do have a basic idea of where this one is going, though, so expect more chapters fairly soon. The more reviews I get, the more I'll be motivated to work on this instead of one of the 20-something other unfinished fics I'm sitting on, hint hint. Soem things you can look forward to in future chapters? Prue starts to lose it, and Paige wonders where she fits in now that the perfect eldest sister is back. 


	6. Hallucination

A/N: Kristal suggested that I change the story a bit, so that Prue had a child in the other world. I asked you what you thought, and all the responses agreed that it's an excellent idea, so I did it. Just to recap, Prue and Caden have a month-old daughter named Kaide (pronounced like Katie, only with a 'd'). Prue hasn't mentioned Kaide to her sisters yet, what with all the excitement of waking up to find herself among strangers who claim to be her family, but don't worry, they'll find out eventually :) Thanks again for the awesome idea, Kristal!  
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"Caden."  
  
Prue smiled. It was warm, the sun was shining down on her favourite part of the grounds, out by the stables. Caden was coming towards her, and he was holding Kaide. Gently, he placed the baby in Prue's arms. She cooed, waved one tiny hand at Prue, and promptly settled herself back to sleep.  
  
Prue smiled at her daughter, then looked up at Caden. "I missed you," she said.  
  
He didn't reply. He just put his arms around her, kissed her and then Kaide.  
  
"How did I get back here?" she wondered.  
  
"Back from where?" he asked, kissing her face. Suddenly, Prue didn't know. She didn't know anything that had happened beyond five minutes ago. Just like last time, she thought. But then, last time for what? Prue almost laughed out loud at her complete inability to remember.  
  
But then, it all came back....  
  
Those people. The ones who said they were her family. They were there, in Cael, standing right in front of her. Prue clung to Caden, frightened. Protectively, she drew Kaide closer to her.  
  
One of the strangers reached for the baby. Piper, that was her name. Or was it Phoebe? Whatever. Prue wanted her away from the child.  
  
Some instinct made her squint her eyes, and concentrate on the woman. Prue was surprised to see her fly backwards and land in a heap on the ground. Good, Prue thought. Now she'll stay away from Kaide.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Prue?" Piper knocked on the door to her sister's bedroom for the third time that morning. Again, she got no answer. Worried, Piper opened the door and went in.  
  
Prue was standing beside the bed, holding one of their old dolls, looking down at it lovingly. "How did I get back here?" Piper heard her ask.  
  
"Prue, what's wrong? You're scaring me." Piper cried.  
  
Prue spun around, clutching the doll, as if to protect it. But protect it from what?, Piper wondered. She was about to ask, when all of a sudden, Prue tk'd her into the wall. Piper landed with a thump, crumpled on the floor and barely concious.  
  
Paige heard the noise and ran in. Prue seemed to snap out of whatever haze she'd been in, and sank on the bed, looking terrified. "Did I do that?" she asked Paige in a small, quavering voice.  
  
"Oh, honey, it's okay." Paige assured her. She bent down and healed Piper. "See?" she said to Prue as Piper was getting up. "All better."  
  
Prue looked at Piper fearfully. "But.. how?"  
  
"It's your power." Piper said.  
  
"Power?" Prue repeated, trying out the word.  
  
Piper nodded, then changed the subject. "What's with the doll, sweetie?"  
  
Prue looked down at the doll, then remembered her dream No, she thought, not a dream. It was real, I know it was, I could feel his kiss, and I was holding her...  
  
"Kaide." she said quietly, not even realizing she'd spoken the name out loud.  
  
"Caden?" Piper asked, mishearing. "What does he have to do with that... spell, or whatever it was you were under?"  
  
"Nothing." Prue said sharply. "I'm hungry. Let's go get breakfast."  
  
"Okay, come on." Paige said, not wanting to push her eldest sister. Prue let the other two go ahead of her, then, as she followed them out, she turned off the lamp, and dropped the doll, letting it fall to the floor. 


	7. Reservations

Piper and Paige watched their sister quietly all through breakfast. Prue was cool, reserved, even nearly to the point of being hostile. Piper couldn't figure it out, and even Paige knew something was seriously wrong with her sister's attitude.  
  
After breakfast, Piper had to go down to the club. Phoebe was already at work, so Paige volunteered, somewhat reluctantly, to stay with Prue.  
  
"I'm not a child, you guys, I can stay here by myself." Prue scoffed.  
  
Paige sighed. "Well, you're stuck with me anyway. I've got nothing better to do."  
  
Prue shrugged indifferently. "So, now what? Do we do the whole sister-bonding thing?"  
  
"If you want." Paige said. Deciding her sister probably wasn't up to it, she flopped down on the couch and reached for the remote.  
  
She was about to turn on the TV, when they heard Kerri crying upstairs.  
  
"I'll get her." Prue offered.  
  
Paige followed her sister upstairs. Prue went over to the baby's crib and took her out, rocking her gently. "It's okay, Kaide." Prue cooed.  
  
"What did you just call her?" Paige asked.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Kerri. Her name is Kerri." Paige said, wondering where Prue had gotten Kaide.  
  
"That's what I said." Prue returned, sounding slightly annoyed. Paige rolled her eyes. She was sure her sister had gotten the baby's name wrong, but she didn't want to start a fight over it.  
  
Paige left Prue with the baby, and went down the hall to check on Keladry. She found her oldest neice sitting cross-legged on the floor in her room, a peice of paper laid out in front of her.  
  
"What are you doing, Kellie?" Paige asked, sitting down across from the little girl.  
  
"Writing a spell." Keladry answered simply.  
  
"A spell?" Paige repeated. "What for?"  
  
"So Aunt Prue can have her memory back, that's what for." Keladry said, as if it should be obvious.  
  
"Can I see it?" Paige asked. Her neice nodded, and she picked up the paper, trying to decipher the second grader's messy handwriting.  
  
"If you and Mommy and Aunt Phoebe say it, then Aunt Prue will be able to remember, and Mommy won't be sad anymore." Keldary said.  
  
Paige smiled at the little girl's adorable naiveté, then pulled her small neice onto her lap. "That's really sweet, honey, but I think it'll take more than a spell to fix this one."  
  
Keladry frowned. "But you guys use spells to fix things all the time."  
  
"I know, sweetie, but those are small things." Paige responded. "Hey, come on. Let's go see your sister." she said, changing the subject.  
  
Keladry nodded, and let Paige carry her down the hall. They stoppedi n the doorwway. Prue was still rocking Kerri.  
  
"You're such a good girl, Kaide." she cooed.  
  
"There it is again," Paige said. "I know I heard you this time. Why do you keep calling her Kaide?"  
  
"Forget it." Prue snapped. Paige looked at her curiously. "Let's go downstairs. The baby's tired, let her sleep."  
  
Paige and Keladry followed Prue back down to the living room. Prue, ignoring them, sat down on the couch and turned the TV on.  
  
"Aunt Prue, can we watch cartoons?" Kelady asked, climbing up onto her aunt's lap.  
  
"Sure, honey." Prue turned on the kids channel, and pulled Kel closer so she wouldn't fall off the couch.  
  
Paige watched them, trying to figure Prue out. With her sisters, she'd been so cold, defensive, but with the kids, she was very much the loving aunt Piper had always said she would have been. It didn't make sense, Paige thought. How can she be so accepting of them but so suspicous of us?  
  
"I'll be back in a few hours." she told her older sister. "Watch the kids while I'm gone, okay?"  
  
Prue nodded, without looking at her. Paige set off for the attic, not wanting to scare Prue by orbing out in front of her. Maybe Leo couldn't get anything useful from the Elders, but that didn't mean Paige couldn't try. With that in mind, she closed the attic door and orbed out.  
  
****************  
A/N: Allright, at this point I could go one of three ways. I could either  
1: Have Prue tell her sisters about Kaide in one of her less-psychotic states  
2: Have Prue tell Keladry about Kaide, and then Kel tells the adults later  
3: Have Prue go on mistaking Kerri for her own daughter, and her sisters not putting the pieces together, and then have Prue tell them at the end of the story.  
Let me know which one you think would be best, and I might do it. I really need feedback, people! Heh, just follow Kristal's lead. *g* 


	8. Meeting

Paige stood in front of the Elders, nervously playing with her hands. They weren't her favourite group of people, and usually when she talked with them she took on a cold, flippant attitude, but this time was different. She couldn't afford to waste time BSing. She'd even changed into the regulation white robes, figuring that the happier they were with her, the more information she was likely to get.  
  
"We don't know what you expected to get from us," one Elder sighed. "We already told Leo we don't know much."  
  
"I know," Paige said. "I just... I was hoping you'd found something by now."  
  
"Well, as a matter of fact..." another Elder began. "We think we've solved the other piece of the puzzle."  
  
Paige narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean? Look, Buddy, I don't have time to mess around. My sister is down there with no idea who she is, and if you don't fix her, it's not just going to be our problem. There are demons out there now that are stronger than the Power of Three. We needed Prue to beat the last one that attacked us, and you know we'll need her again. So if you want to save your own asses as well as hers, you'll tell me what you know."  
  
The Elders exchanged looks, considering the truth behind Paige's outburst.  
  
"We aren't sure," an Elder told her, "but we think we know how Prue got here, and, if we're right, what you all need to do in order to get her memory back."  
  
"We think that, since it was the anniversary of Prue's supposed death, that created a portal between her world and ours. It was the same portal she came through the first time, when she disappeared." a fourth Elder explained.  
  
"We also think there's something tying her to the other world," continued a fifth Elder. "Something that's preventing her from fully returning to us."  
  
Paige nodded. "That explains a lot. She keeps talking about this man, named Caden. Could he be it?"  
  
The Elders nodded.  
  
"The bond of love may be strong enough to hold her," an Elder conceded, "although I doubt it. But maybe. You'll have to try and find out from her everything that's happened the past eight years."  
  
"But how will that help her?" Paige asked, frustrated.  
  
"You'll find out, eventually." the Elder answered. "For now, let's just see if we're right."  
  
Sighing, Paige orbed out.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Crying. Prue heard crying.  
  
She rushed upstairs. The baby had woken up from her nap.  
  
Something wasn't right. This didn't look like the crib that Caden had built.  
  
Prue shook her head. No matter. A crib was a crib. She picked up the baby, comforting her.  
  
"It's okay, Kaide. Mommy's here. It's okay."  
  
Only it wasn't okay. Because then it hit her. This wasn't Kaide.  
  
"Kerri." Prue breathed. By now, her neice had stopped crying. She was looking up at Prue with bright, inquisitive eyes.  
  
"But then," Prue wondered aloud, "Why do I keep thinking you're Kaide?"  
  
Still holding Kerri, she sank down onto Piper and Leo's bed. "Where am I?" she asked the baby. "Why isn't Kaide here?" Tears were running down her cheeks. She wanted her little girl.  
  
A small figure appeared in the doorway. "Aunt Prue? Why are you crying?" Keldary asked, coming in to sit beside her aunt and her sister.  
  
Prue dried her eyes. "It's because I miss Cael... The place where I was, before."  
  
"Well, will you ever be able to go back?" her oldest neice asked innocently.  
  
Prue sighed. "I hope so, sweetie. I hope so."  
  
****************  
A/N: Wow. I haven't updated this fic in forever. Extreme case of writer's block, but I think I've finally broken through it. Review and let me know what you think. Also, if you want to know when I update, join my Yahoo group. E-mail me at xscarletstarlet@aol.com and I'll send you an invite. 


	9. Forming A Plan

Late that night, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige gathered in the attic so Paige could fill her sisters in on what the Elders had said. Prue had gone to sleep early, claiming to have a headache.  
  
"But how do we get her to tell us what she left behind there?" Piper asked. "We can barely get her to say two words to us."  
  
"I think it has something to do with Caden." Paige said.  
  
"It's the only name I've heard her mention so far." Phoebe agreed.  
  
"That still doesn't tell us how to fix this." Piper sighed.  
  
Paige nodded. "That's what I told Them. They said to make sure we were right. I guess that means we have to get her to talk to us."  
  
"Well she isn't going to say anything tonight." Phoebe said. "Come on, we all need sleep."  
  
Her sisters nodded in agreement, and slowly filed out of the attic. Paige hung back, as if she could find some clue in the place where Prue first reappeared. Finally, she blew out the candles and went to bed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next morning, they went into Prue's room. The oldest Halliwell was curled up in a ball, rocking herself.  
  
"Go away." she muttered when her sisters came close.  
  
"Sweetie, we just want to help." Piper said soothingly.  
  
"No." Prue insisted. "I don't know you. I want Caden."  
  
"But Prue, we're your sisters!" Phoebe cried exacperatedly.  
  
Prue curled up even tighter, and suddenly a burst of power went through the room. Piper, Phoebe, and Paige were thrown out the door.  
  
"Did she always used to knock you on your asses when she wanted to be alone?" Paige asked, rubbing her hip, which she'd bruised in the fall.  
  
Piper shrugged. "Well, her powers always were tied to her emotions, especially anger and fear. Obviously, they're stronger now because she's afraid of us."  
  
The three exchanged glances. They'd never in their strangest dreams imagined that their big sister could actually fear them. The thought was heartbreaking.  
  
Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Prue was shaking. She didn't know how she did that. She'd never seen such a display of power before, especially not coming from her.  
  
"What the hell was that?" she whispered as her sisters came back in.  
  
Paige knelt beside her. "That was your power."  
  
"Power." Prue repeated almost inaudibly.  
  
"Remember the other day, when we told you that we're witches? All of us; you, me, Piper, and Paige?" Phoebe asked.  
  
Prue nodded.  
  
"Well, we all have powers. Yours is telekinesis. That's Paige's power, too, but since she's half Whitelighter it works differently in her." Piper explained. "Mine is freezing things, and blowing them up, and Phoebe's is clairvoyance and levitation."  
  
"You guys are crazy." Prue said. "Cael is the real magic place, and there wasn't any of this fairy-tale crap there."  
  
"What do you mean, 'the real magic place'?" Paige asked.  
  
Prue shrugged. "On Cael, magic is all around. It's in the weather, the animals, the plants. It's so beautiful."  
  
"Magic is here, too," Phoebe said. "It's just a different kind of magic."  
  
Prue shook her head. This was more than she could handle. "I want Kaide." she sobbed.  
  
Her sisters misunderstood.  
  
"We'll help you get back to Caden." Paige said.  
  
Piper looked at her baby sister quizically, but nodded at Prue. "We will, sweetie. Don't worry." 


	10. The Solution

Piper, Phoebe, and Paige left Prue's room and went back up to the attic to talk.  
  
"How are we going to help her get back? Why are we going to help her go back?" Piper asked.  
  
"I think I see what Paige is talking about." Phoebe said. "If she goes back, and resolves whatever it is that's keeping her tied to that place, then when she comes back, she'll be okay."  
  
"Exactly." Paige said. "Do you think we can do that? I mean, write a spell that'll send her back, but only for a small amount of time?"  
  
"We should be able to." replied Piper.  
  
Phoebe nodded. "I'll go work on it."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Okay, I have it." Phoebe said excitedly.  
  
Piper took the paper, looked it over, and nodded in approval. "Okay. Paige, can you get Prue?"  
  
Paige turned and headed downstairs.  
  
"Prue?" she called, knocking lightly on her sister's door. Without waiting for an answer, she went in. "Honey, it's time. We're going to send you back to Cael."  
  
Prue looked up, smiling. "I'm going back?"  
  
Paige nodded. "Yes, but only for an hour. That will give you enough time to resolve whatever you need to, and then when you get back here, everything will be okay."  
  
"Okay." Prue repeated. She didn't seem to hear the part about her stay on Cael being short. All she knew was that she was going home.  
  
Paige brought her back to the attic, where Piper and Phoebe were waiting. They were standing outside a circle of eight white candles.  
  
"There's a candle here for each year she was gone." Piper explained to Paige. "We're hoping that this will enforce the one-hour part, and keep her from staying there another year."  
  
Paige nodded. "Okay. Let's do it."  
  
Prue sat in the center of the circle, and closed her eyes. She didn't like the magic here. The magic here was scary. She just listened as her sisters began the spell.  
  
"Prue's been gone for eight long years,  
Now she's here without a memory,  
To fix this mess, for just one hour,  
Take her back to where she wants to be."  
  
Piper, Phoebe, and Paige watched with tears in their eyes as Prue disappeared in a flash of light. 


	11. Played Out

Prue reappeared in the Caden's stable, in front of Coeur's stall. She smiled, rubbing the mare's nose.  
  
Caden came running in. "Prue! You're back."  
  
She spun around, and ran into his arms. "God, I missed you."  
  
"I missed you, too," he said, kissing her. He picked her up, and carried her into the house.  
  
"Where is she?" Prue asked as he set her down. She ran into the nursery, where Kaide was awake in her crib. Prue picked the baby up, holding her close. "Hi, sweetheart."  
  
Kaide looked up at her mother and cooed. Prue smiled, and turned back to Caden.  
  
"How long was I gone?" she asked.  
  
"Not long. A few days." he replied. "What was it like?"  
  
"Scary." Prue responded. "I couldn't remember anythiing. There were these three women, they said they were my sisters... And these two little girls. My neices. I kept thinking the baby was Kaide. I must have been going crazy."  
  
"You were, or at least you were starting to." Caden told her. She looked at him, confused, and he went on. "Prue, you need to go back. Don't ask me how I know, because I'm not sure, but you have to take Kaide and go back."  
  
"No." she said, shaking her head. "I'm not leaving you."  
  
He pulled her into a tight hug, careful not to crush Kaide. "I don't want to lose you, baby. But you have to go. You don't belong here, you know that. You've always known, that what we've had here the past eight years couldn't last. This isn't your world."  
  
Prue pulled back, suddenly remembering something. "An hour. The spell only lasts for an hour."  
  
It had taken them forty-five minutes just to walk from the stable to the house, and they'd spent another fifteen just now, talking.  
  
Caden and Prue looked at each other. They knew their time was up.  
  
"I love you." he said as the room filled with light. He kissed her and their baby, and then stepped back.  
  
"I love you, too," she whispered. Then, she disappeared.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Prue returned to the attic in the same spot she'd left it. The only difference was that now, she was holding a tiny baby girl.  
  
She opened her eyes. Suddenly, everything was clear.  
  
"Piper... Phoebe..." she whispered. Gently setting her baby down on the old iron bed, she went over to hug her sisters.  
  
They returned the embrace tightly. "Prue... are you really... back?" Piper asked.  
  
Prue nodded, pulling away. "Yes. I remember everything."  
  
Suddenly, she turned to face her half-sister. "Paige. Thank you, for figuring it out. If you hadn't gone to the Elders..." She let her voice trail off, and hugged Paige.  
  
Paige kissed her sister's cheek. "Welcome home, honey."  
  
Prue crossed the room, and picked up the baby. "This is what was keeping me tied to Cael, the reason I couldn't fully remember." she said, smiling down at her daughter. "You guys wanna meet your neice?"  
  
Piper, Phoebe, and Paige nodded eagerly, hovering over the baby in Prue's arms.  
  
"This is Kaide." she announced.  
  
"Kaide..." Paige repeated. "And all this time I thought you were saying Caden, or just getting Kerri's name wrong, or... Why didn't you tell us you had a kid?"  
  
Prue shrugged. "I was going crazy. Literally. I guess you could call it... extreme seperation anxiety?"  
  
Her sisters laughed, and then Leo orbed into the attic, with Keladry on his shoulders.  
  
"I told you they were up here." the little girl said. Leo gently put her down, and she raced over to Piper.  
  
Prue ran over to hug her brother-in-law. "Didja miss me?" she asked, smiling.  
  
Leo smiled back. "Prue, how...?"  
  
"Paige figured it out." Prue told him.  
  
"We'll explain later." Piper said.  
  
"In the meantime..." Prue said, taking Leo's hand and pulling him over to her sisters. "Come see your neice."  
  
"Neice?" he repeated. She took the baby from Phoebe, and put her in his arms.  
  
"Kaide Patrycja Halliwell. It seems I still had my memory, subconsciously, the whole time I was in Cael, because I named her after Mom. Although Caden was the one who spelled it like that."  
  
"Aunt Prue, are you really back now?" Keladry asked, tugging on Prue's skirt.  
  
"Yes, Kel," Prue answered, picking up the little girl. "I'm really back now, and I'm not going anywhere."  
  
****************  
A/N: What did you think? Granted, it was a lot better in my head than on paper, and it took forever what with the writer's block and lack of time and all, but it wasn't my worst fic. Review, please. 


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